I’ve been writing to you weekly since September with updates on the deliberations on the proposed 2017-2018 budget. This will be my last budget update of the year because on Monday, the City Council adopted the 2017 City of Seattle budget and 2017-2022 Capital Improvement Plan.

As part of the biennial budget process, the Council also “endorsed” a 2018 budget that will serve as the base for next year’s budget process.

Earlier in the day, before the Full Council vote, the Budget Committee met one last time to consider items held from the November 16 meeting.

The Council adopted one addition item I was lead sponsor on: creation of a Child Care Mitigation Fund, to address the displacement of before-and-after school child care from Seattle School District buildings. The funding would be available for use by the District and to child care providers to make arrangements to keep child care on-site at schools or assist in relocating where providers would otherwise be displaced. This is funded in 2017 through cuts in funding for currently vacant positions in various City departments.

The budget includes funding for 72 additional police officers in 2017-2018, as part of the 2015-2019 plan to hire an additional 200 officers, along with funding for a variety of items that will enhance transparency and accountability.

Transgender Day of Remembrance

Last Sunday, I had the honor of participating in the Transgender Day of Remembrance. Every year, on November 20, transgender communities and their allies gather to remember the lives lost to anti-transgender violence that year and to celebrate and support those who survive. In 2016, at least 24 transgender people were murdered in the United Sates. The majority of those killed in 2016 were transgender women of color.

As chair of the Council committee that provides oversight for civil rights issues, I have started to work with the City Auditor’s office to determine how we are using the data SPD collects from reported hate crimes, how we analyze that data for trends that eventually influence resource allocations, and whether these crimes are investigated and prosecuted as bias crimes. Check out my blog post on this effort.

We are also working to help those in our city family of public servants by developing a new City of Seattle transgender employment policy. We must ensure that our workforce is supported by management and coworkers when endeavoring to be their true selves in the work place.

I am proud to sponsor legislation next month to change the LGBT Commission name to include the Q in LGBTQ. Queer scholars and activists have reclaimed the term “queer” to establish a sense of community and assert a distinct politicized identity that is civically engaged. Queer identities may be adopted to seek a broader, more inclusive term that encompasses one’s full humanity.

I will be at the South Park Community Center (8319 8th Avenue S) on Friday, December 16, from 3:30 pm – 7:00pm. The reason for the truncated hours is that there is a Special Full Council meeting scheduled for 2pm on that day.

The final meeting of the day will begin at 6:30pm. These hours are walk-in friendly, but if you would like to let me know you’re coming in advance you can email my scheduler Alex Clardy (alex.clardy@seattle.gov).

Call for Public Comment on Source of Income Discrimination

The Seattle Office for Civil Rights (SOCR) has proposed Administrative Rules for the new source of income protections that amended the City of Seattle’s Open Housing Ordinance (SMC 14.08, CB118755). Members of the public have until 5 p.m. on Friday, December 2, 2016 to comment on the proposed rules.

The Rules provide guidance regarding several provisions of the ordinance, including:

About Lisa

A New York State native, Lisa has lived in Seattle for the last 22 years. Lisa began her career as a community organizer working for Syracuse United Neighbors (SUN), a grassroots organization struggling for equal distribution of city services in low-income neighborhoods. Lisa moved to Seattle to help open a new ACORN (Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now) office. Before running Councilmember Licata's 1997 campaign for City Council, she worked as a tenant organizer for the Tenants Union. Lisa has a grown daughter named Megan and she is the happy Omi (German for "granny") of Megan's daughter and son.

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